The prior art is replete with gutter hangers, some of which provide for fastener elements. One of the most common hangers has been the nail and ferrule type in which a ferrule is disposed between the front and rear walls of the gutter, and a nail is driven through the front wall, through the ferrule, through the rear wall and into the frieze board or fascia of the building structure. An example is shown in the old patent to Peal U.S. Pat. No. 1,940,369 issued Dec. 19, 1993.
There have also been strap type hangers wherein a brace extends across the top of the gutter and is centrally apertured to receive a hanger, an example being shown in the old Tangard U.S. Pat. No. 1,701,087 issued Feb. 5, 1929.
With the development of the "Ogee" gutter, hangers have sometimes comprised a bracket having a hook on its outer end adapted to engage into the reentrant pocket of the upper end of the front wall of the gutter. An inverted U-shaped clip has slipped over the top edge of the rear wall of the gutter, an example being shown in Sauder U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,760 issued Dec. 17, 1968.
More recently, the Odekirk U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,422 issued Oct. 13, 1981 discloses a gutter hanger comprising an "Ogee" bead engaging hook at its outer end and a clip at its inner end, the hanger body being zig-zag-shaped adjacent the clip and pierced to hold a nail in proper position for driving into the fascia board. This arrangement clearly requires extra material to hold the nail. The positioning appurtenance becomes part of the structural support after the hanger is installed.
An earlier patent to Ramser U.S. Pat. No. 3,053,491 issued Sep. 11, 1962, includes in the hanger an upstruck tab which may support an end of the nail at a proper driving angle. Ramser, however, does not contemplate holding means for the nail, merely a notched support for the nail once the gutter assembly is complete.